The current monthly claim forms will be amended further to allow easy completion electronically and capture all essential data (e.g. consultation fees and drug costs)

We will add this form to our website for future claims. PLEASE USE THIS FOR FUTURE CLAIMS FROM MAY 2014 onwards. - Once the form is uploaded to the website we will email again.

The new form will contain the following:-

a place to include company bank details in order for BACS payments instead of Cheque Payments

an additional section to capture the number of consulations (professional fees)

Historic Claims - Action NeededContractors are well aware that they haven’t been paid correctly (if at all) for these professional services dating back to April 2013. Recently contractors resubmitted these claim, however the LPC has discovered that there are still problems with missing data - including professional fees. This will result in further underpayment.The LPC has brought this to NECS attention and asked for this be remedied asap. To this end a pre-popualted form will be sent from NECS in the near future (Next week) for you to double check and add in the missing data. (E.g. April 2013 to April 2014 claims and numbers of prescription forms submitted).

Returning this will ensure you are paid promptly and fully for all CCG services delivered between April 2013 and April 2014. (13 months outstanding)We understand this will be frustrating for contractors as this will be the third time you will be submitting this data. The LPC made it perfectly clear that this was unacceptable and NECs have offered an 8% late payment compensatory fee for all outstanding monies. This will be automatically added. NECS have apologised sincerely and have agreed to work over time to process these payments as a matter of urgency.We urge all contractors to return the pre-populated forms as soon as they receive it.We appreciate this situation is not ideal however we believe the outcomes we have agreed will bring this matter to a close.

The service is a primary care mental health service open to all those registered with a GP in Gateshead or South Tyneside.

The LPC believe that this is an important service that may be useful to patients coming in to the pharmacy.

Flyers and posters will shortly be sent direct to all pharmacies to help highlight the service. You can also download electronic copies below.

Below is also some information about the service as well as contact details.

What is a talking therapy?

When we hit a rough patch in life we can often get through it with support from friends, family or colleagues. There can be times when this doesn’t feel as though it’s working or you don’t know who to turn to.

Talking therapies are there to help people through these difficult times in life. Our service offers an assessmentappointment to help you decide, with the support of one of our experienced therapists, which therapy would be the most helpful for you.

All of our therapies are confidential and will provide you with a safe place to discuss the issues that are troubling you. They are all provided on a one-to-one basis, except for our courses which are for small groups of people.

Having therapy can feel like a scary thing to do, especially if you feel you can’t tell anyone how you are feeling. All of our therapists are properly qualified and experienced in supporting people who are going through issues such as depression and anxiety.

The therapies that we provide are recognised nationally as being particularly helpful for certain issues. Please read further on in this leaflet to find out more about the different types of therapy we have available. Our contact telephone number can be found on the back page.We work with people who have:

• anxiety• depression• trauma• stress• bereavement• and other issues

Anyone registered with a GP in Gateshead or South Tyneside can self refer in complete confidence, no need to visit your GP if you do not want to. Our service is provided by the NHS and there is no charge.

Sunderland University are seeking the opinion of community pharmacists on their clinical pharmacy diploma course.Please see the information below and respond accordingly.

Dear Pharmacists,The postgraduate team at Sunderland University are considering some changes to the current delivery of the Postgraduate Clinical Diploma/MSc in response to the evolving working patterns of pharmacists in all sectors of the profession. Many of the pharmacists who enrol on our programme are now working across a 7 day week and the current delivery of our study days may not currently be responsive to the needs of our service users. We also want to increase accessibility to our expert speakers, which may mean scheduling our study days to times outside of normal working hours. Currently, we offer 2 full study days per term (one for each module) on a Wednesday between 9am-5pm. These sessions are repeated on a Saturday.What we are proposing is the following schedule:

Four ‘mini’ sessions per term of 3 hours duration, at 4pm-7pm on a Wednesday. These would be held at the City Campus in Sunderland.

The winter term would run Oct-Dec and summer term from Jan-June (as it does currently).

The day time full study days on the Wednesday and Saturday would be discontinued.

We are looking for your feedback on our proposals. For example, would your employers be receptive to the timings proposed? Do you think you would learn more effectively in shorter sessions with more expert speakers or would you prefer larger block teaching? Would the proposed changes influence your decision to study at Sunderland?We are grateful for any feedback regarding our proposed new programme structure or if you are a current student, any suggestions that you may have to help us continually improve our programme.Please send your comments via email to Mrs Tania Jones:tania.jones@sunderland.ac.uk<mailto:tania.jones@sunderland.ac.uk>

The LPC has worked jointly with B-D, Diabetes UK and Sanofi to put on a CPD training workshop for pharmacists and their staff on Diabetes. The workshop is will give you a CPD update on diabetes as well as training on Injection technique and Key tips for MURs with diabetic patients.

It is open to all pharmacists and their staff members. The workshop will take place on the 21st May 2014 at quality Hotel East Boldon. The meeting will start at 6.30pm. Food and drink will be available from 6pm.

You can book onto the event by filling in the registration form below.

The Local Professional Network (LPN's) have asked us to pass on an update newsletter from the LPN chairs. This newsletter can be accessed by clicking it below. For any further information or an queries please use the contacts within the news letter.